The Washington Coalition for Open Government represents individuals and organizations intent on preserving and protecting Washington's Open Government Laws - Open Records and Open Meetings. Its mission is to represent the public in matters where open government issues are raised, are threatened, or deserves broader exposure.

The Coalition conducts public workshops and forums around the state, involving the public, public officials, and the media in discussing government accessibility as provided in the various statutes that assure such access and accountability from our public agencies.


NEWS ARTICLES


Forum looks at importance of state open
meetings laws
Yakima Herald-Republic: June 24, 2009

Laws governing public records and open meetings remain critical more than 35 years after they were approved by Washington voters, speakers at a forum on open government said Wednesday.

"You have that right to know what we are doing," said Tim Ford, the open government ombudsman for the state Attorney General's Office.

Ford was part of a panel of speakers organized by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a nonpartisan group that advocates for improvements in the state's laws governing public meetings and records. Read More

More transparency in state always better
The News Tribune: June 24, 2009

Have you ever wondered how much the Department of Labor and Industries spends on travel? Or how much the Liquor Board spends on salaries and wages?

Thanks to the actions of state officials last year, the answers to such questions are simply a mouse click away. By visiting fiscal.wa.gov, the state's new budget transparency Web site, within minutes I had the answers to both questions. For example, through March L&I had spent more than $9 million on travel and the Liquor Board paid out $80 million in salaries and wages during the 2007-09 biennium. Read More

An open, accountable government is essential
Yakima Herald-Republic: June 23, 2009

A good friend making a run for public office asked this past weekend how, besides stressing his character, background and experience, he could differentiate himself from others in a crowded field for the post he is seeking.

Pardon the bad baseball metaphor, but the question came across like a high fastball to a clean-up hitter. I offered an answer with little hesitation. Read More

Ideas Online, Yes, but Some Not So
Presidential
The New York Times: June 22, 2009

On Jan. 21, his first full day in office, President Obama promised to open up the government, ordering officials to use modern technologies like Internet message boards and blogs to give all Americans a bigger voice in public policy.

Well, the people have spoken. But many of them are not sticking to the topics at hand.

The White House made its first major entree into government by the people last month when it set up an online forum to ask ordinary people for their ideas on how to carry out the president's open-government pledge. It got an earful - on legalizing marijuana, revealing U.F.O. secrets and verifying Mr. Obama's birth certificate to prove he was really born in the United States and thus eligible to be president. Read More

State open records forum slated Wednesday
Yakima Herald-Republic: June 21, 2009

A free forum on state open records and meetings laws will be held Wednesday.

Scheduled speakers include state Auditor Brian Sonntag, former state Rep. Toby Nixon, assistant state attorney general Tim Ford and Sunnyside City Clerk Deborah Estrada.

Questions and comments from the audience are welcome. Read More

Obama Closes Doors on Openness
Newsweek: June 20, 2009

As a senator, Barack Obama denounced the Bush administration for holding "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House. But last week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's "clean coal" policies. One reason: the disclosure of such records might impinge on privileged "presidential communications." The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure. Since Obama pledged on his first day in office to usher in a "new era" of openness, "nothing has changed," says David -Sobel, a lawyer who litigates FOIA cases. "For a president who said he was going to bring unprecedented transparency to government, you would certainly expect more than the recycling of old Bush secrecy policies." Read More

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